Happy Halloween!

A special double-post this time, since I've been absent for the past month. In the spirit of Halloween here is a helping of Frankenstein with some Melvin Monster for dessert. Much safer than begging for candy from strangers, right?

Here is Dick Briefer's "Hail, the King" from Frankenstein #8 (July-August 1947):

Here is "Mr. Rosenose" and "Crazy Klutch" from Melvin Monster #5 (October 1966) by John Stanley:

4 comments:


Gabriel said...

I've enjoyed a lot Briefer's story I've never read before. I get surprise when I've seen that YOW! on second panel from page two. Wonder if Briefer came into contact with Stanley's work. I guess so. It might be just a coincidence, though. Who knows :)
I was surprised also by the OLÉ! female-vampire exclaims on page 8. Looks like Briefer was so free when it comes down to write his stories! Wish I know something about how he worked!!
Glad to have you back again!
By The way, it seems Fantagraphics is preparing a "book will travel through Briefer's complete Frankenstein series". Here goes the link:
http://www.fantagraphics.com/index.php?option=com_myblog&show=Fantagraphics-Announces-Seven-New-Collections-of-Golden-Age-Comics.html&Itemid=113

Thax for sharing!

November 1, 2009 1:59 AM


Doug said...

Hey, Gabriel! I'm looking forward to the Fantagraphics book as well. I've really wanted to read the wartime stories from Prize Comics; hopefully they will be publishing all of them from the beginning!

November 1, 2009 4:14 AM


Mykal said...

Doug: Glad to see you back! And with such style - I love Melvin the Monster! Stanley always had such great ideas - only JS would think of Mr. Rosenose. And Crazy Klutch - what great character design. What I love about Melvin is that Stanley always pulls it back from being too frightening for children - it remains, always, a comic where adults (like us?) can see genius and kids just see fun.

Great post! Keep 'em coming -- Mykal

November 1, 2009 6:20 AM


Doug said...

I agree, Mykal, Stanley was one of the greats when it comes to the balancing act necessary for an all-ages comic. But gallows humor is pretty much a given when you're writing stories about monsters.

It's too bad Melvin didn't last longer than 9 issues (I believe #10 is a reprint of the first issue, right?) If it had, perhaps Melvin would have been as classic a character as Tubby or Lulu if he had the time to be as fully developed. And I also love the character designs in the book! All the monsters, monster kids, the witches, the guardian devil, the alligator, and especially Melvin's Baddy are just amazing!

November 1, 2009 12:29 PM